Ensign: It would be 'wrong' to force Reid to step down

Republican Sen. John Ensign -- who has been battling his own political problems stemming from an extra-marital affair he had with a married campaign aide -- came to Sen. Harry Reid's defense yesterday.

Ensign told KKOH radio that his fellow Republicans are wrong to call for Reid to step down as Senate majority leader because of the Democrat's controversial comments on President Obama's race.

“Democrats were really wrong in what they did to Trent Lott and we shouldn’t do the same thing to Sen. Reid,” Ensign said. His remarks were reported yesterday by the Reno Gazette-Journal, a sister Gannett paper.

Ensign and Reid have a long history as combatants and colleagues in Nevada politics. In 1998, Reid defeated Ensign by fewer than 500 votes. During the long and bitter recount process in Minnesota last year, Reid held out Ensign as an example of how to lose gracefully. Ensign did not challenge his narrow 1998 defeat and won a Senate seat two years later. As a result, Reid said Ensign became "a real hero in Nevada."

And, as the Reno paper points out, there is "an agreement" between the two senators that they shall not criticize each other.

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.